CALLING FOR THE REPATRIATION OF POW/MIAs

AND ABDUCTEES FROM THE KOREAN WAR

MARKUP
BEFORE THE

SUBCOMMITTEE ON ASIA AND THE PACIFIC

OF THE

COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
ONE HUNDRED TWELFTH CONGRESS
FIRST SESSION
ON

H. Res. 376
NOVEMBER 30, 2011

Serial No. 11282

Printed for the use of the Committee on Foreign Affairs

(
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2011

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COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS

ILEANA ROS-LEHTINEN, Florida, Chairman
CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH, New Jersey
HOWARD L. BERMAN, California
DAN BURTON, Indiana
GARY L. ACKERMAN, New York
ELTON GALLEGLY, California
ENI F.H. FALEOMAVAEGA, American
DANA ROHRABACHER, California
Samoa
DONALD A. MANZULLO, Illinois
DONALD M. PAYNE, New Jersey
EDWARD R. ROYCE, California
BRAD SHERMAN, California
STEVE CHABOT, Ohio
ELIOT L. ENGEL, New York
RON PAUL, Texas
GREGORY W. MEEKS, New York
MIKE PENCE, Indiana
RUSS CARNAHAN, Missouri
JOE WILSON, South Carolina
ALBIO SIRES, New Jersey
CONNIE MACK, Florida
GERALD E. CONNOLLY, Virginia
JEFF FORTENBERRY, Nebraska
THEODORE E. DEUTCH, Florida
MICHAEL T. MCCAUL, Texas
DENNIS CARDOZA, California
TED POE, Texas
BEN CHANDLER, Kentucky
GUS M. BILIRAKIS, Florida
BRIAN HIGGINS, New York
JEAN SCHMIDT, Ohio
ALLYSON SCHWARTZ, Pennsylvania
BILL JOHNSON, Ohio
CHRISTOPHER S. MURPHY, Connecticut
DAVID RIVERA, Florida
FREDERICA WILSON, Florida
MIKE KELLY, Pennsylvania
KAREN BASS, California
TIM GRIFFIN, Arkansas
WILLIAM KEATING, Massachusetts
TOM MARINO, Pennsylvania
DAVID CICILLINE, Rhode Island
JEFF DUNCAN, South Carolina
ANN MARIE BUERKLE, New York
RENEE ELLMERS, North Carolina
ROBERT TURNER, New York
YLEEM D.S. POBLETE, Staff Director
RICHARD J. KESSLER, Democratic Staff Director

SUBCOMMITTEE

ON

ASIA

AND THE

PACIFIC

DONALD A. MANZULLO, Illinois, Chairman

RON PAUL, Texas
ENI F.H. FALEOMAVAEGA, American
BILL JOHNSON, Ohio
Samoa
DAN BURTON, Indiana
FREDERICA WILSON, Florida
EDWARD R. ROYCE, California
GARY L. ACKERMAN, New York
STEVE CHABOT, Ohio
BRAD SHERMAN, California
MIKE KELLY, Pennsylvania
GREGORY W. MEEKS, New York
JEFF DUNCAN, South Carolina
DENNIS CARDOZA, California

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CONTENTS
Page

MARKUP OF
H. Res. 376, Calling for the repatriation of POW/MIAs and abductees from
the Korean War ....................................................................................................
Amendment in the nature of a substitute to H. Res. 376 offered by the
Honorable Donald A. Manzullo, a Representative in Congress from the
State of Illinois, and chairman, Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific ......

2
8

LETTERS, STATEMENTS, ETC., SUBMITTED FOR THE RECORD

The Honorable Donald A. Manzullo: Prepared statement ...................................
The Honorable Eni F.H. Faleomavaega, a Representative in Congress from
American Samoa: Prepared statement ...............................................................

15
18

APPENDIX
Hearing notice ..........................................................................................................
Hearing minutes ......................................................................................................
The Honorable Eni F.H. Faleomavaega: New York Times article submitted
for the record ........................................................................................................

22
23
24

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CALLING FOR THE REPATRIATION OF POW/

MIAs AND ABDUCTEES FROM THE KOREAN
WAR
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 30, 2011

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,
SUBCOMMITTEE ON ASIA AND THE PACIFIC,
COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS,
Washington, DC.
The committee met, pursuant to notice, at 11:30 a.m., in room
2226 Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. Donald A. Manzullo
(chairman of the subcommittee) presiding.
Mr. MANZULLO. The subcommittee will come to order. After the
conclusion of this brief business meeting, we will proceed immediately to todays hearing on the Compact of Free Association with
the Republic of Palau. Pursuant to notice, for purposes of a markup, I call for House Resolution 376: Calling for the Repatriation of
POW/MIAs and the Abductees from the Korean War.
[H. Res. 376 follows:]

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7
Mr. MANZULLO. Without objection, the measure is considered
read, and open for amendment at any point. Before recognizing myself and other members for statements, I have a bipartisan amendment in the nature of a substitute that makes a few changes to the
underlying resolution. These edits and updates, which were sent to
your offices yesterday, were carefully negotiated with the author,
Mr. Rangel, and his staff.
The clerk will report the amendment.
Mr. GUTFRUCHT. Amendment in the nature of a substitute to H.
Res. 376, offered by Mr. Manzullo of Illinois. Strike the preamble
and insert
Mr. MANZULLO. Without objection, the amendment in the nature
of a substitute is considered read.
[The amendment offered by Mr. Manzullo follows:]

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13
Mr. MANZULLO. All members are given leave to insert remarks
on this measure into the record, should they decide to do so. I now
recognize myself to speak on this measure.
On June 25, 1950, the North Koreans initiated the Korean War
by unleashing a torrent of death and destruction across the border
against Americas ally, South Korea, in a brazen effort to reunite
the divided peninsula under the oppressive red flag of communism.
The legacy of the Korean War reverberates 61 years later, with a
nuclear-armed North Korea still menacing peaceful nations and the
hundreds of thousands of people it still holds as prisoners of war
and abductees.
Approximately 1.8 million members of the U.S. Armed Forces
fought in Korea, alongside South Korea and United Nations forces.
The sacrifices of the more than 128,600 Americans killed or wounded in that conflict will never be forgotten. Our friends in South
Korea suffered equally with us in their darkest hour, with the
added misery that the war was fought in their homeland.
For so many families in the U.S and Korea, the war has never
ended. The Defense Department reports that more than 8,000
American servicemen as POW/MIAs in the conflict, with 5,500 soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines in North Korea. Families all
throughout this great country still do not have the closure they deserve after so many years, and it is time that North Korea told the
truth about their whereabouts.
In South Korea, it is estimated that as many as 73,000
servicemembers were never reported by North Korea as POWs.
Add to this the abduction of approximately 100,000 South Korean
civilians, and we can finally have a clear picture of North Koreas
brutality.
House Resolution 376 recognizes the plight of American and
South Korean prisoners of war and civilian abductees still alive in
North Korea. It calls on both the U.S. and South Korean Governments to thoroughly investigate any sightings of POWs and civilian
abductees. The resolution also calls on North Korea to admit the
kidnapping of over 100,000 people during the war, and to repatriate remaining POWs and civilian abductees as required by the
Geneva Convention.
The amendment in the nature of a substitute makes several
changes to the base text of H. Res. 376. This amendment was
drafted in coordination with the bills sponsor, Representative Rangel of New York, and makes a number of changes, too many to explain in the time I have for these remarks.
Key items include: Recognition of the thousands of South Korean
men forcibly conscripted into the North Korean Army; the abduction of South Korean civilians by North Korea in its attempts to
communize the South; the hardship endured by South Korean families of the abducted civilians; North Koreas refusal to acknowledge, account for, or repatriate abductees; and strong U.S. efforts
to negotiate release of these civilians during the Korean War Armistice Commission Conference of 1953.
There is no excuse for North Korea to refuse family reunions for
the more than 100,000 South Koreans forcibly abducted 61 years
ago. We owe it to our South Korean friends and the nearly 1.5 mil-

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14
lion Americans of Korean descent to never give up the fight for
their release.
Personally, I will never forget the day when former South Korean Ambassador Lee Tae-Sik made a special visit to the 16th Congressional District in Illinois to personally thank American veterans of the Korean War for defending his country and protecting
his people. As I stood watching the Ambassador deliver his remarks, and the emotional response of our veterans, I could not be
but overcome with great respect and gratitude for the friendship
our two nations share.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Manzullo follows:]

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17
Mr. MANZULLO. I now recognize the ranking member, Mr.
Faleomavaega.
Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Mr. Chairman, thank you for calling this
hearing. I appreciate very much your leadership and your efforts
in bringing this important resolution before the subcommittee for
markup. Mr. Chairman, House Resolution 376 was authored, introduced, and sponsored by a true American hero, my good friend, the
Honorable Charles Rangel from New York. I am very proud to be
an original co-sponsor of this resolution.
House Resolution 376 calls for the repatriation of POWs, MIAs,
and abductees from the Korean War. I know this legislation is near
and dear to Congressman Rangels heart, as was the resolution he
introduced last year to recognize the 60th anniversary of the Korean War. Last years resolution, which was passed by Congress
and signed by the President, should have borne Charlie Rangels
name in it. To me, it always will be.
Mr. Chairman, some 30,000 soldiers lost their lives in the Korean
War from 1950 to 1953. In a Black unit led mostly by White officers, Acting Sergeant Charles Rangel was awarded the Purple
Heart and Bronze Star for his heroic service in the Korean War,
having led his comrades from behind enemy lines in circumstances
few of us have ever known.
I commend the Honorable Charles Rangel for his valor, for his
sacrifice and courage. I also want to thank the Korean-American
community here in the metropolitan DC area, Los Angeles and
New York, and especially Mr. Dongsuk Kim, the founder and
former president of the Korean-American Voters Council, for their
grassroots efforts in support of this resolution.
The resolution is very important to the Korean-American community because some have relatives that are POWs currently in North
Korea, and some of their relatives are still alive and want to be repatriated. At the very least, these Korean-Americans just want to
find out the status of their relatives that were taken as POWs during the Korean War.
Mr. Chairman, I would ask unanimous consent that this article
in the New York Times dated November 28 of this year, entitled
Calling Out Names of 83,000 Lost South Koreans, be made part
of the record.
Again, I want to say that on behalf of our Korean-American community, for all those who served and sacrificed so much during the
Korean War, I urge my colleagues to support this resolution.
I yield back.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Faleomavaega follows:]

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19
Mr. MANZULLO. Without objection, the article will be admitted.
Are there any other members who would like to strike the last
word and speak? Mr. Royce.
Mr. ROYCE. I would like to. I thank you, Mr. Chairman, for
scheduling this markup. I really want to thank our colleague Charlie Rangel, who sort of has the quintessentially American sense of
humor, and documented his role in that conflict in his book, And
I Havent Had a Bad Day Since.
I think, for those who fought in this war, for that generation of
Americans and South Koreans who bled in that war, they take
some umbrage with the idea that some refer to this as a forgotten
war. They havent forgotten that war. And I think, by moving this
legislation forward, we are signalling that this committee hasnt
forgotten that war.
I have chaired the Interparliamentary Exchange with South
Korea for some years, and I know the impact that that conflict had
on South Korea. I think, as much as anything, this resolution demonstrates the shared commitment and the sacrifice that serves as
the foundation of the U.S.-Korea alliance.
A lot has changed in the last six decades since the war. Certainly
with the United States support, South Korea has transformed into
a modern leading economy. Yet north of the 38th parallel in North
Koreaand I have been in North Koreathey still live literally in
darkness.
It has been more than 60 years now, and our Department of Defense still lists more than 8,000 American servicemen as POWs or
missing in action from the Korean War. The number of South Koreans is estimated to be many multiples of that. And of course, as
mentioned, you had 100,000 South Koreans forcibly conscripted
into the North Korean army.
For our veterans, and for their families, it is well past time for
a full accounting, which this resolution calls for. So I urge its adoption, and I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. MANZULLO. Do any other members seek recognition to speak
on it? Mr. Duncan.
Mr. DUNCAN. Thank you. I just want to echo Chairman Royces
comments there, that my wife just participated in an honor flight,
coming up to Washington. And I was sitting here, thinking about
it being the month when we celebrate and recognize Veterans Day,
and honor the memory of those who have fought and those who are
currently serving. And I think about the number of Korean War
veterans that I run across, just in daily contact around the District.
And I just want to pause and say thank you to those men and
women who served so valiantly in a war that, a lot of times, is forgotten when we focus on the current War on Terror, and are remembering those of the greatest generation, World War II veterans, that are passing away at a very rapid rate.
And I just want to pause and say, we do remember the Korean
War veterans. This is a very timely resolution. And I just want to
echo Mr. Royces comments, as well, and simply say thanks.
I yield back.
Mr. MANZULLO. Do any other members seek recognition?
[No response.]

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20
Mr. MANZULLO. Hearing none, and there being no further
amendments, the question is on agreeing to the bipartisan amendment in the nature of a substitute.
All those in favor, say aye.
[Chorus of ayes.]
Mr. MANZULLO. Those opposed, say no.
[No response.]
Mr. MANZULLO. In the opinion of the Chair, the ayes have it and
the amendment of the nature of a substitute is agreed to. The question now occurs on adopting the resolution as amended.
All those in favor, say aye.
[Chorus of ayes.]
Mr. MANZULLO. Those opposed, say no.
[No response.]
Mr. MANZULLO. In the opinion of the Chair, the ayes have it, and
the amended resolution is agreed to. Without objection, H. Res. 376
as amended is reported favorably to the full Committee on Foreign
Affairs, and staff are directed to make any technical and conforming changes.
That concludes our business. Without objection, the subcommittee stands adjourned.
[Whereupon, at 11:44 a.m., the subcommittee was adjourned.]

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APPENDIX

MATERIAL SUBMITTED

FOR THE

HEARING RECORD

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